1 1 2 CITY COUNCIL 3 CITY OF NEW YORK 4 -------------------------------x 5 THE TRANSCRIPT OF THE MINUTES 6 of the 7 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 8 -------------------------------x 9 10 January 30, 2008 11 Start: 1:55 p.m. Recess: 3:34 p.m. 12 City Hall 13 Council Chambers New York, New York 14 15 B E F O R E: 16 BETSY GOTBAUM Public Advocate 17 18 COUNCIL MEMBERS: Speaker Christine Quinn Joseph Addabbo 19 Maria Arroyo Tony Avella 20 Charles Barron Gale Brewer 21 Leroy Comrie 22 23 24 LEGAL-EASE COURT REPORTING SERVICES, INC. 17 Battery Place - Suite 1308 25 New York, New York 10004 800-756-3410 2 1 2 A P P E A R A N C E S (CONTINUED) 3 COUNCIL MEMBERS: 4 Bill DeBlasio Inez Dickens 5 Erik Martin-Dilan Matthew Eugene 6 Simcha Felder Lewis Fidler 7 Helen Foster Dennis Gallagher 8 Daniel Garodnick James Gennaro 9 Vincent Gentile Alan Gerson 10 Eric Gioia Sara Gonzalez 11 Vincent Ignizio Robert Jackson 12 Letitia James Melinda Katz 13 G. Oliver Koppell Jessica Lappin 14 John Liu Miguel Martinez 15 Michael McMahon Darlene Mealy 16 Rosie Mendez Hiram Monserrate 17 Michael Nelson James Oddo 18 Annabel Palma Domenic Recchia 19 Joel Rivera James Sanders 20 Larry Seabrook Helen Sears 21 Kendall Stewart James Vacca 22 Peter Vallone, Jr. Albert Vann 23 Melissa Mark Viverito David Weprin 24 Thomas White David Yassky 25 3 1 2 A P P E A R A N C E S (CONTINUED) 3 STAFF: Billy Martin 4 Council Clerk 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 4 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 SPEAKER QUINN: Before the meeting 3 starts, if we could just get quiet for the two 4 ceremonials. And the first one is a ceremonial at 5 the request of Deputy Majority Leader Comrie and our 6 Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum. I'm sorry, we'll turn 7 the mic over to the Public Advocate, and then to 8 Leroy. 9 PUBLIC ADVOCATE GOTBAUM: Thank you. 10 Thank you, Ms. Speaker. 11 This is a sort of bittersweet moment 12 because one of my most favorite people in the world, 13 and one of the best workers in New York City 14 retired, and I did everything to keep her from 15 retiring, and I couldn't persuade her. But today she 16 is being honored here and I'm very proud to do that. 17 I already miss her. She's only been 18 gone a week. And occasionally I see you do come 19 around the office, which is great. 20 But anyway, Liz Blaney has been in 21 the City for a long time, and has been in my office 22 for six year. Prior to that it was eight years with 23 Mark Green, the former Public Advocate. Before that 24 with David Dinkins, who ran the Citizens' Action 25 Center, Community Assistance Center, sorry, but she 5 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 is the example of what a great New York City person 3 is, and a fabulous worker. So, Liz, I'm very pleased 4 to turn this over to your Councilman, Councilman 5 Comrie. 6 COUNCIL MEMBER COMRIE: Yes, Liz, 7 please. Although she was enjoying it, but... I'm 8 proud and honored to join the Speaker and my 9 colleagues, Council Member DeBlasio and Council 10 Member Brewer and Council Member Sears, who will get 11 her name on there later, along with the Speaker. 12 We have had -- I'm honored that Liz 13 Blaney lives in my district, and has always lived in 14 my district, and still I'm honored to keep her in my 15 district, and, you know, she's been a true jewel to 16 so many people around this City with just some of 17 the things that she's done in the Southeast Queens 18 where she helped start the Neighborhood Housing 19 Service of Jamaica, which is actually the progenitor 20 for the Citywide NHS that does so many things for 21 our City. 22 Liz has been an advisor for so many 23 civic and cultural groups for individuals. She's 24 been a mentor to so many women around this City, she 25 is truly a jewel in our crown here in New York City. 6 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 And as I said at her earlier ceremony when her staff 3 honored her, it's now time to get Liz for your 4 volunteer committees, three or four people already 5 looking at Liz to run different organizations and to 6 run other charitables, because she truly has a font 7 of information and a desire to share it, and she is 8 truly someone that we need to keep in service in any 9 way possible. 10 She served, and I will have the clerk 11 -- I mean the Speaker will have the clerk read the 12 roll, but it's such an honor to have someone that is 13 so committed and dedicated to making sure that this 14 City works. 15 And I know that, you know, if you 16 don't have people like Liz, we truly don't make the 17 City work. 18 We have an opportunity as legislators 19 to do things, but it's really the people like Liz 20 would tell us to do, and then they make sure it's 21 done and then they make sure they teach other people 22 how to do it. 23 So, she's truly been a treasure and a 24 jewel, and Council Member Brewer would like to say a 25 few words. 7 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 COUNCIL MEMBER BREWER: People think 3 I'm the 3-1-1, but the real 3-1-1 is Liz Blaney. 4 We've worked together, I don't know, 5 some 20 years I think over the years and she's like 6 a sister. She and I can finish each other's 7 sentences and dish it out real good together. 8 She knows the City, cares about the 9 individuals, as Council Member Comrie said, 10 understands all the pieces that make a neighborhood 11 and a city work, and I agree that we've been saying 12 to her for the last week, what are you doing, what 13 are you doing, because everybody wants to be on her 14 team, whatever she decides to do for the City or the 15 neighborhood. 16 We're losing a great jewel. She's 17 Tier 1, though. Young people don't know what that 18 is. For those of us who do, she's Tier 1. And is 19 pretty good, as Leroy Comrie says. The fact of the 20 matter is, I appreciate her friendship. I value the 21 fact that she knows so much about the City. We'll 22 certainly miss her, but we'll always love her and 23 we'll never lose contact with her. And Council 24 Member Comrie is very lucky that she lives in his 25 district. 8 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 SPEAKER QUINN: And if the clerk could 3 please read the well-deserved proclamation. 4 COUNCIL CLERK: Council, City of New 5 York, Proclamation. 6 Whereas: The Council of the City of 7 New York is proud to celebrate the distinguished 8 career and retirement of Elizabeth Blaney, and to 9 honor her for more than 25 years of extraordinary 10 service to the City and to the community; and 11 Whereas: Elizabeth Blaney's 12 professionalism, dedication and visionary leadership 13 have earned the title of "Unsung Heroine in City 14 Government." Her distinguished career in government 15 began in 1980, working for Mayor Edward I. Koch in 16 the Community Assistance Unit serving as liaison for 17 the communities of Southeast Queens; and 18 Whereas: Liz was rewarded for her 19 unique skills in 1984, and named Assistant Director 20 of the Community Assistance Unit, and by 1990 became 21 its Deputy Director under Mayor David N. Dinkins; 22 and 23 Whereas: Liz's efforts to increase 24 effectiveness of government also made her an 25 excellent Deputy Public Advocate for Ombudsman 9 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 Services. She served in this role under our City's 3 first Public Advocate Mark Green and was tapped for 4 it once again in 2001 by Public Advocate Betsy 5 Gotbaum; now, therefore 6 Be it known: That the Council of the 7 City of New York honors Elizabeth Blaney for her 8 outstanding contributions to New York City, and we 9 wish her all the best for a healthy and happy 10 retirement. 11 Christine C. Quinn, Speaker for the 12 Entire Council; Leroy G. Comrie, Jr., Deputy 13 Majority Leader, Council Member 27th District, 14 Queens; Bill DeBlasio, Council Member 39th District, 15 Brooklyn; Gale A. Brewer, Council Member, 6th 16 District, Manhattan; Thomas White, Jr., Council 17 Member 28th District, Queens. 18 MS. BLANEY: Madam Speaker, Madam 19 Public Advocate, to all of the colleagues of this 20 prestigious body, and to my Councilman Leroy Comrie, 21 I want to thank him for singling me out for this 22 honor, and I do feel honored. I feel so honored to 23 stand here among people who I know work hard every 24 day on behalf of the whole City of New York, and I 25 feel this expression towards me is awesome. It's 10 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 awesome. I'm humbled by it. I'm inspired by it. I 3 feel I can go forward now, and whatever is next for 4 me in this new period in my life, which I don't like 5 to call retirement because that's not what I plan to 6 do. I'm going to figure out another name for it. 7 That's what I'll do. But I want to thank all of you. 8 I want to thank my colleagues and the Public 9 Advocate's Office, for all the people who have 10 worked so hard. We never really accomplish anything 11 by ourselves. We always do it in team work and in 12 coordination with others. 13 I thank my family, I thank my friends 14 and I thank all of you. 15 SPEAKER QUINN: Thank you. 16 And even if you wanted to retire, 17 it's pretty clear no one is going to let you. 18 So, thank you so much for your 19 service to the City. 20 Thank you all. 21 And our next ceremonial is at the 22 request of Council Member Sears and Monserrate. 23 Okay, if we can get Council Members 24 Monserrate and Sears. There is Council Member 25 Monserrate. Okay, terrific. And if we can just get a 11 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 little quiet for our next and last ceremonial. Let 3 me just the room a little quieter and then I'll just 4 hand the mic over to you. 5 Let me turn the mic over to Council 6 Members Monserrate and Sears who actually have, that 7 was a lovely ceremonial we just did, honoring a City 8 worker, and this is a big moment, recognizing some 9 three terrific young people in our City who did 10 something quite, quite extraordinary. 11 So, Council Member Monserrate. 12 COUNCIL MEMBER MONSERRATE: Thank you 13 very much, Madam Speaker, and to my colleague Helen 14 Sears, who wanted to participate and be a part of 15 this, and actually called me immediately when this 16 was made news on New York 1. 17 SPEAKER QUINN: If we could get a 18 little quiet as folks are exiting because this 19 really is something I think everyone needs to hear, 20 the story that Hiram is going to share with us. 21 COUNCIL MEMBER MONSERRATE: Thank you 22 very much, Madam Speaker. 23 We all remember December 17th as 24 being one of the coldest days in New York City. It 25 was in the teens that day, and in our neighborhood 12 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 of Elmhurst, which I represented, Helen also 3 represents a portion of, there was a miracle in 4 essence on Lamont Avenue, and it was when four young 5 men who were skateboarding, hanging around the block 6 of their neighborhood, heard cries of a newborn baby 7 that was left in a container. Basically thrown away. 8 And these young men found her, guarded her, called 9 9-1-1, went to the 110th Precinct and ensured that 10 baby Christina Noel would be saved. 11 And today she is with us because 12 these young boys did the right thing. And I invited 13 them here, and I want to say, had it not been for 14 their intervention, that baby would not have 15 survived. 16 And we have another big announcement 17 to make that no one knows about, but the Moncada 18 family, I want to just name the young men first, 19 it's Christopher and Brian Moncada. Hello to 20 everyone. Give them a wave. And we have Gabriel 21 Mercedes. Gabriel, give a wave. And Louis Cordero 22 could not be here with us today, but he is also the 23 fourth young man who was one of the saviors and the 24 rescuers, and as a person who grew up very much 25 having spiritual beliefs, I believe that sometimes 13 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 even in government the lord works in mysterious 3 ways. The Moncada family has four boys, right? They 4 have four boys, and I was speaking to them, and all 5 their lives they wanted to have a baby girl. So, I'm 6 going to put us all on the spot here, because 7 they're actually asking ACS to adopt Baby Christina 8 Noel. Yes. So, we'll be following up on that, and 9 maybe it's another baby miracle for the family. And 10 we should go right ahead, and I'm going to pass over 11 the mic to my colleague Helen Sears, my colleague 12 who we share, significant parts of our communities 13 with. 14 Helen. 15 COUNCIL MEMBER SEARS: Thank you very 16 much. And for us to move on with the ceremonials, I 17 just want to say, at a time when we have so much 18 that goes on in the City of New York, in this 19 country and in the world, when we think of how, our 20 youth today that we have so much concern about, how 21 they without thinking heard this baby's cries, took 22 her out of the container, and only thought of saving 23 her. They didn't even think about themselves, they 24 just saw a life that was becoming lifeless, and 25 that's so extraordinary. And I think when we have 14 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 moments like this, we have to be very proud of our 3 young people, because at times when we think that 4 maybe we have big concerns about them, there is 5 always one shooting start that brings us a lot of 6 hope. And I tell you, you are a lot of hope for all 7 the youth in our City today. So, I really 8 congratulate you. Thank you. And I know the baby is 9 doing well, because when she was taken there and I 10 called Elmhurst, they said miraculously, as my 11 colleague says, she was doing just fine, and it was 12 one of the coldest days of the year. 13 So, thank you. And I think all of you 14 should thank these young boys, because they have 15 saved a life. 16 SPEAKER QUINN: And if the clerk could 17 read the proclamations, please. 18 COUNCIL CLERK: Council, City of New 19 York, Proclamation. 20 Whereas: Today we are pleased to 21 recognize, Brian Moncada, Christopher Moncada, and 22 Gabriel Mercedes, residents of Elmhurst, Queens, for 23 their outstanding service to the community and the 24 City of New York; and 25 Whereas: On the night of December 15 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 17th, 2007 in Elmhurst, Brian, Christopher and 3 Gabriel played a critical role in rescuing newborn 4 baby Christina Noel, who had been abandoned in a 5 garbage receptacle and on the verge of succumbing to 6 an imminent death. 7 With the assistance of three other 8 valiant teenage individuals, Brian and Christopher 9 demonstrated poise and composure by skateboarding to 10 the 110th Precinct of the New York City Police 11 Department to enlist the help of police officers, 12 and Gabriel demonstrated poise and composure by 13 watching over Baby Christina Noel and keeping her 14 spirits alive as friends rushed to the 110th 15 Precinct, thereby saving Christina Noel's life as 16 she was brought to Elmhurst Hospital; and now, 17 therefore 18 Be It Known: That the Council of the 19 City of New York honors Brian Moncada, Christopher 20 Moncada and Gabriel Mercedes, for demonstrating 21 heroism on December 17th, 2007. 22 Christine C. Quinn, Speaker for the 23 Entire Council, Hiram Monserrate, Council Member 24 21st District, Queens; Helen Sears, Council Member 25 25th District, Queens. 16 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 SPEAKER QUINN: Thank you. 3 COUNCIL MEMBER MONSERRATE: Thank you, 4 again. And we're going to be hearing from Gabriel. 5 Gabriel, do you want to say a word? 6 MR. MERCEDES: I just want to thank 7 you. I want to thank Monserrate. Thank you. 8 SPEAKER QUINN: Thank you is good. 9 MR. MERCEDES: Thank you. 10 COUNCIL MEMBER MONSERRATE: These are 11 true heroes, because they're also shy to accept to 12 accept this recognition. But we announced a few days 13 ago, we have also established a scholarship fund for 14 the baby and for the four rescuers. And a lot of the 15 people in the community are coming forward, and 16 anyone who wants to support, it's the Christina Noel 17 Heroes Fund at Commerce Bank. 18 Thank you very much, and God bless 19 you all. 20 SPEAKER QUINN: And that concludes our 21 ceremonials. 22 PUBLIC ADVOCATE GOTBAUM: All rise, 23 please, for the Pledge. 24 (Pledge of Allegiance.) 25 PUBLIC ADVOCATE GOTBAUM: Thank you 17 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 very much. 3 Roll call. 4 COUNCIL CLERK: Addabbo. 5 COUNCIL MEMBER ADDABBO: Here. 6 COUNCIL CLERK: Arroyo. 7 (No response.) 8 COUNCIL CLERK: Avella. 9 COUNCIL MEMBER AVELLA: Here. 10 COUNCIL CLERK: Baez. 11 (No response.) 12 COUNCIL CLERK: Barron. 13 COUNCIL MEMBER BARRON: Here. 14 COUNCIL CLERK: Brewer. 15 COUNCIL MEMBER BREWER: Here. 16 COUNCIL CLERK: Comrie. 17 (No response.) 18 COUNCIL CLERK: DeBlasio. 19 COUNCIL MEMBER DEBLASIO: Here. 20 COUNCIL CLERK: Dickens. 21 (No response.) 22 COUNCIL CLERK: Dilan. 23 COUNCIL MEMBER DILAN: Here. 24 COUNCIL CLERK: Eugene. 25 COUNCIL MEMBER EUGENE: Here. 18 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 COUNCIL CLERK: Felder. 3 COUNCIL MEMBER FELDER: Here. 4 COUNCIL CLERK: Fidler. 5 COUNCIL MEMBER FIDLER: Here. 6 COUNCIL CLERK: Foster. 7 COUNCIL MEMBER FOSTER: Here. 8 COUNCIL CLERK: Gallagher. 9 COUNCIL MEMBER GALLAGHER: Here. 10 COUNCIL CLERK: Gardonick. 11 COUNCIL MEMBER GARODNICK: Here. 12 COUNCIL CLERK: Gennaro. 13 COUNCIL MEMBER GENNARO: Here. 14 COUNCIL CLERK: Gentile. 15 COUNCIL MEMBER GENTILE: Here. 16 COUNCIL CLERK: Gerson. 17 COUNCIL MEMBER GERSON: Here. 18 COUNCIL CLERK: Gioia. 19 COUNCIL MEMBER GIOIA: Here. 20 COUNCIL CLERK: Gonzalez. 21 COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ: Here. 22 COUNCIL CLERK: Ignizio. 23 (No response.) 24 COUNCIL CLERK: Jackson. 25 COUNCIL MEMBER JACKSON: Here. 19 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 COUNCIL CLERK: James. 3 (No response.) 4 COUNCIL CLERK: Katz. 5 COUNCIL MEMBER KATZ: Here. 6 COUNCIL CLERK: Koppell. 7 COUNCIL MEMBER KOPPELL: Here. 8 COUNCIL CLERK: Lappin. 9 (No response.) 10 COUNCIL CLERK: Liu. 11 COUNCIL MEMBER LIU: Here. 12 COUNCIL CLERK: Mark-Viverito. 13 COUNCIL MEMBER MARK-VIVERITO: Here. 14 COUNCIL CLERK: Martinez. 15 COUNCIL MEMBER MARTINEZ: Here. 16 COUNCIL CLERK: McMahon. 17 COUNCIL MEMBER McMAHON: Here. 18 COUNCIL CLERK: Mealy. 19 COUNCIL MEMBER MEALY: Here. 20 COUNCIL CLERK: Mendez. 21 COUNCIL MEMBER MENDEZ: Here. 22 COUNCIL CLERK: Monserrate. 23 COUNCIL MEMBER MONSERRATE: Here. 24 COUNCIL CLERK: Nelson. 25 COUNCIL MEMBER NELSON: Here. 20 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 COUNCIL CLERK: Palma. 3 COUNCIL MEMBER PALMA: Here. 4 COUNCIL CLERK: Recchia. 5 COUNCIL MEMBER RECCHIA: Here. 6 COUNCIL CLERK: Sanders. 7 COUNCIL MEMBER SANDERS: Here. 8 COUNCIL CLERK: Seabrook. 9 COUNCIL MEMBER SEABROOK: Here. 10 COUNCIL CLERK: Sears. 11 COUNCIL MEMBER SEARS: Here. 12 COUNCIL CLERK: Stewart. 13 COUNCIL MEMBER STEWART: Here. 14 COUNCIL CLERK: Vacca. 15 (No response.) 16 COUNCIL CLERK: Vallone. 17 COUNCIL MEMBER VALLONE: Here. 18 COUNCIL CLERK: Vann. 19 COUNCIL MEMBER VANN: Here. 20 COUNCIL CLERK: Weprin. 21 COUNCIL MEMBER WEPRIN: Here. 22 COUNCIL CLERK: White. 23 COUNCIL MEMBER WHITE: Here. 24 COUNCIL CLERK: Yassky. 25 COUNCIL MEMBER YASSKY: Here. 21 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 COUNCIL CLERK: Oddo. 3 COUNCIL MEMBER ODDO: Here. 4 COUNCIL CLERK: Rivera. 5 (No response.) 6 COUNCIL CLERK: Speaker Quinn. 7 SPEAKER QUINN: Present. 8 COUNCIL CLERK: Arroyo. 9 COUNCIL MEMBER ARROYO: Here. 10 COUNCIL CLERK: Gallagher. 11 COUNCIL MEMBER GALLAGHER: Here. 12 COUNCIL CLERK: Ignizio. 13 COUNCIL MEMBER IGNIZIO: Here. 14 COUNCIL CLERK: Vacca. 15 COUNCIL MEMBER VACCA: Here. 16 PUBLIC ADVOCATE GOTBAUM: We have a 17 quorum. 18 Invocation. All rise. To be delivered 19 by Reverend Katrina D. Foster, Pastor of the Fordham 20 Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Bronx. 21 REVEREND FOSTER: A reading from the 22 Profit Mica. 23 "The Lord has told you, a mortal, 24 what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, 25 but to do justice and to love kindness, and to walk 22 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 humbly with your God." 3 Let us pray. 4 Loving God, we thank You for this 5 day, for blessings and abundance, for health and 6 strength and spared life. 7 As these, Your servants, gather for 8 work, deliberation and discernment, give them all 9 wisdom and courage; make them instruments for 10 wholeness, health and freedom. 11 We pray for our Mayor Michael, that 12 You would continue to watch over him, protect him 13 and lead him. 14 We pray for Christine, our City 15 Council Speaker, that You would watch over her, her 16 partner, Kim, their families, and that you would 17 continue to be with her as she leads and seeks to 18 bring unity to this Council. 19 Bless all members of the City 20 Council. Give them and all our elected and appointed 21 officials the desire to seek the just use of their 22 power and positions for the building up of our 23 blocks, our communities, our boroughs and our whole 24 City, that Your people may live in peace and 25 wholeness. 23 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 As we consider on Tuesday, who may be 3 gifted to best be our next President; help us to be 4 concerned with important matters, not merely 5 personalities, but to choose character, capacity for 6 leading and inspiring; help us discern the right 7 road to follow so that all might participate in our 8 beloved communities and country and not grow weary 9 by past disappointments or present cynicism. 10 In all that we do, may we be Your 11 instruments doing Your will, strong in gird courage 12 and confident in our future together. 13 In Your most Holy name we pray, amen. 14 PUBLIC ADVOCATE GOTBAUM: Motion to 15 spread the Invocation. Council Member Koppell. 16 COUNCIL MEMBER KOPPELL: Yes, I move 17 to spread the very thoughtful Invocation of Reverend 18 Foster, who is serving now in the Bronx, as the head 19 of a congregation. 20 I move to spread the Invocation on 21 the record. 22 PUBLIC ADVOCATE GOTBAUM: So ordered. 23 Adoption of the Minutes. 24 COUNCIL CLERK: None. 25 PUBLIC ADVOCATE GOTBAUM: Messages and 24 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 Papers from the Mayor. 3 COUNCIL CLERK: M 911. Submitting 4 Angela M. Battaglia for reappointment to the City 5 Planning Commission. 6 SPEAKER QUINN: Rules, Privileges and 7 Elections. 8 PUBLIC ADVOCATE GOTBAUM: Quiet, 9 please. 10 COUNCIL CLERK: M 912 through M 918. 11 Preliminary Capital and Expense Budget and other 12 reports. 13 SPEAKER QUINN: Finance. 14 COUNCIL CLERK: M 919. 15 SPEAKER QUINN: Received, ordered, 16 printed and filed. 17 PUBLIC ADVOCATE GOTBAUM: 18 Communication from City, County and Borough Offices. 19 COUNCIL CLERK: M 920. 20 Public Advocate's Annual Report. 21 SPEAKER QUINN: Received, ordered, 22 printed and filed. 23 COUNCIL CLERK: M 921 through 937. 24 Base station license applications. 25 SPEAKER QUINN: Transportation. 25 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 PUBLIC ADVOCATE GOTBAUM: Petitions 3 and Communications. 4 COUNCIL CLERK: None. 5 PUBLIC ADVOCATE GOTBAUM: Land Use 6 Call-Ups. 7 COUNCIL CLERK: M 938 through M 941. 8 SPEAKER QUINN: All of those items 9 should be coupled on a Land Use Call-Up vote. 10 And if we could please have a roll 11 call on the Land Use Call-Up now. 12 COUNCIL CLERK: Addabbo. 13 COUNCIL MEMBER ADDABBO: Aye. 14 COUNCIL CLERK: Arroyo. 15 COUNCIL MEMBER ARROYO: Aye. 16 COUNCIL CLERK: Avella. 17 COUNCIL MEMBER AVELLA: Aye. 18 COUNCIL CLERK: Barron. 19 COUNCIL MEMBER BARRON: Madam Chair, I 20 request unanimous consent to vote aye on all General 21 Order item calendars. 22 PUBLIC ADVOCATE GOTBAUM: So ordered. 23 COUNCIL MEMBER BARRON: Thank you. 24 COUNCIL CLERK: Brewer. 25 COUNCIL MEMBER BREWER: Aye. 26 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 COUNCIL CLERK: Comrie. 3 COUNCIL MEMBER COMRIE: Aye. Present. 4 COUNCIL CLERK: DeBlasio. 5 COUNCIL MEMBER DEBLASIO: Aye. 6 COUNCIL CLERK: Dickens. 7 (No response.) 8 COUNCIL CLERK: Dilan. 9 COUNCIL MEMBER DILAN: Aye on all. 10 COUNCIL CLERK: Eugene. 11 COUNCIL MEMBER EUGENE: Aye. 12 COUNCIL CLERK: Felder. 13 (No response.) 14 COUNCIL CLERK: Fidler. 15 COUNCIL MEMBER FIDLER: Aye. 16 COUNCIL CLERK: Foster. 17 COUNCIL MEMBER FOSTER: Aye. 18 COUNCIL CLERK: Gallagher. 19 COUNCIL MEMBER GALLAGHER: Aye. 20 COUNCIL CLERK: Garodnick. 21 COUNCIL MEMBER GARODNICK: Aye. 22 COUNCIL CLERK: Gennaro. 23 COUNCIL MEMBER GENNARO: Yes. 24 COUNCIL CLERK: Gentile. 25 COUNCIL MEMBER GENTILE: Aye. 27 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 COUNCIL CLERK: Gerson. 3 COUNCIL MEMBER GERSON: I vote aye, 4 and with permission of my colleagues, Madam Public 5 Advocate, I'd like to vote aye on all matters before 6 us today, all General Order matters and also aye on 7 the resolution. 8 PUBLIC ADVOCATE GOTBAUM: So ordered. 9 COUNCIL CLERK: Gioia. 10 COUNCIL MEMBER GIOIA: Yes. 11 COUNCIL CLERK: Gonzalez. 12 COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ: Aye. 13 COUNCIL CLERK: Ignizio. 14 COUNCIL MEMBER IGNIZIO: Aye. 15 COUNCIL CLERK: Jackson. 16 COUNCIL MEMBER JACKSON: Aye on all. 17 COUNCIL CLERK: James. 18 (No response.) 19 COUNCIL CLERK: Katz. 20 COUNCIL MEMBER KATZ: Aye on all. 21 COUNCIL CLERK: Koppell. 22 COUNCIL MEMBER KOPPELL: Aye. 23 COUNCIL CLERK: Lappin. 24 (No response.) 25 COUNCIL CLERK: Liu. 28 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 COUNCIL MEMBER LIU: Yes. 3 COUNCIL CLERK: Mark-Viverito. 4 COUNCIL MEMBER MARK-VIVERITO: Yes. 5 COUNCIL CLERK: Martinez. 6 COUNCIL MEMBER MARTINEZ: Yes. 7 COUNCIL CLERK: McMahon. 8 COUNCIL MEMBER McMAHON: Aye. 9 COUNCIL CLERK: Mealy. 10 COUNCIL MEMBER MEALY: Present. Aye. 11 Yes. 12 COUNCIL CLERK: Mendez. 13 COUNCIL MEMBER MENDEZ: Aye. 14 COUNCIL CLERK: Monserrate. 15 (No response.) 16 COUNCIL CLERK: Nelson. 17 COUNCIL MEMBER NELSON: Aye. 18 COUNCIL CLERK: Palma. 19 (No response.) 20 COUNCIL CLERK: Sanders. 21 (No response.) 22 COUNCIL CLERK: Seabrook. 23 (No response.) 24 COUNCIL CLERK: Sears. 25 COUNCIL MEMBER SEARS: Aye. 29 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 COUNCIL CLERK: Stewart. 3 COUNCIL MEMBER STEWART: Yes. 4 COUNCIL CLERK: Vacca. 5 COUNCIL MEMBER VACCA: Aye. 6 COUNCIL CLERK: Vallone. 7 COUNCIL MEMBER VALLONE: Aye. 8 COUNCIL CLERK: Vann. 9 COUNCIL MEMBER VANN: Aye. 10 COUNCIL CLERK: Weprin. 11 COUNCIL MEMBER WEPRIN: Aye. 12 COUNCIL CLERK: White. 13 COUNCIL MEMBER WHITE: I vote aye on 14 the resolutions. I vote aye on all coupled, on all 15 Land Use items. I ask unanimous consent to vote aye 16 on all coupled General Orders. 17 PUBLIC ADVOCATE GOTBAUM: So ordered. 18 COUNCIL MEMBER WHITE: I vote aye. 19 PUBLIC ADVOCATE GOTBAUM: So ordered. 20 COUNCIL CLERK: Yassky. 21 COUNCIL MEMBER YASSKY: Aye. 22 COUNCIL CLERK: Felder. 23 COUNCIL MEMBER FELDER: Yes. 24 COUNCIL CLERK: Seabrook. 25 COUNCIL MEMBER SEABROOK: Aye. 30 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 COUNCIL CLERK: James. 3 COUNCIL MEMBER JAMES: Aye. 4 COUNCIL CLERK: Lappin. 5 COUNCIL MEMBER LAPPIN: Aye and 6 present. 7 COUNCIL CLERK: Speaker Quinn. 8 SPEAKER QUINN: Yes. 9 PUBLIC ADVOCATE GOTBAUM: Thank you. 10 Today's Land Use Call-Ups were 11 adopted by a vote of 40 in the affirmative, zero in 12 the negative. 13 Communication from the Speaker. 14 SPEAKER QUINN: Thank you. 15 We have quite a bit of information to 16 talk about on Speaker's time today. 17 The first is Intro. 61-A. And before 18 we speak a little bit about the bill, I want to 19 thank the staff who worked on the piece of 20 legislation. Jerry Hoffman, who is no longer at the 21 Council, but did great work on this bill, Camilla 22 Shadeen, Ben Goodman, Molly Murphy, Minga Taveras, 23 Maura Keeney, Rob Newman and Alan Pastilnick all did 24 some terrific work on Intro. 61-A, and I want to 25 thank all of them. 31 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 I also first and foremost want to 3 thank the sponsor of the bill, the Chair of the 4 General Welfare Committee, which heard the bill, 5 Council Member Bill DeBlasio. 6 Intro. 61-A is a piece of 7 legislation, that when it goes into law will amend 8 the City's Human Rights Law to say that people 9 cannot be discriminated against, based on the source 10 of income they have to pay their rent. 11 It means that if you go to rent an 12 apartment and you have the ability to pay, 13 regardless of whether your ability to pay is money 14 that's in a Section 8 voucher, in Social Security, 15 in some other government program, if you have the 16 ability to pay, if you have the ability to pay, the 17 landlords will not be able to turn you away. 18 And this piece of legislation, which 19 is going to make the City's great Human Rights Law 20 even better, and I think do a tremendous amount to 21 help address our housing crisis, by getting people 22 who have the ability to pay and need housing to get 23 them to their Section 8 vouchers and other sources 24 of income are accepted by landlord. We wouldn't be 25 voting on this bill today, if it wasn't for the hard 32 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 work of Council Member Bill DeBlasio, and I want to 3 thank him for introducing the bill, and sticking 4 with the bill in the prior Council and in this 5 Council and getting us to this point today where 6 we're going to take a great step forward in the City 7 of New York. And I want to call on the Chair of the 8 General Welfare Committee, Council Member Bill 9 DeBlasio. 10 COUNCIL MEMBER DeBLASIO: Thank you 11 very much. 12 Madam Speaker, I want to thank you, 13 first of all. This was a complex piece of 14 legislation. A lot of work went into it, a number of 15 hearings over the last three years, and I want to 16 thank you for having really focused on it. There is 17 always a lot on the plate at the City Council, but 18 you make this a priority, and you let us, in making 19 sure that we got the maximum out of this legislative 20 process, and I really hope everyone realizes that we 21 not only had hearings to perfect a piece of 22 legislation which will now help thousands of New 23 Yorkers, but we used the whole legislative process 24 to bring the industry together with tenants, 25 together with government agencies, to try and 33 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 improve the administration of the Section 8 program. 3 Because that was really something that was a problem 4 for tenant and landlord alike. They deserved, 5 everyone deserved a more streamlined approach in the 6 Section 8 Program in particular, and we used this 7 moment to do that. 8 So, I think there has really been 9 progress on that front. 10 But the bottom line is, this bill is 11 about stopping discrimination. It should not be 12 acceptable in New York City for someone to be 13 discriminated against because of the type of income 14 they have. It's just not acceptable. And I just want 15 to say very quickly, you know, the point here is 16 that we're making clear, whatever your lawful source 17 of income, you cannot be discriminated against. 18 That's an important human rights, civil rights in 19 and of itself. On top of that, it helps us avoid 20 other types of discrimination that might be guised 21 as discrimination in terms of the type of income, 22 and it helps us move forward in terms of getting 23 people, the desperately needed affordable housing. 24 You know, the New York City Human 25 Rights Law over the years has expanded as new needs 34 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 have become clear. And that's the beauty of this 3 human rights law. It has continued to bring more and 4 more people under the fold of the protections of the 5 law, and we've done that again here today. But we're 6 also making sure in an incredibly difficult housing 7 market, that people who get that precious Section 8 8 voucher or who have SSI or Social Security, have 9 other types of funding, can use it. 10 Lastly, just thank yous to all the 11 folks from the Speaker's staff. Most notably Rob and 12 Maura, who put so much work into this, and to Molly 13 and Migna of the General Welfare staff, and 14 everyone, all the advocates, ACORN, Legal Aid, 15 Tenants and Neighbors Bobby Sackman, the Council of 16 Senior Centers, everyone. 17 PUBLIC ADVOCATE GOTBAUM: Quiet, 18 please. 19 COUNCIL MEMBER DeBLASIO: A tremendous 20 group effort. 21 And I know this legislation will 22 really improve the lives of thousands of New 23 Yorkers. 24 Thank you so much. 25 SPEAKER QUINN: Thank you very much. 35 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 We're also voting today on Intro. 3 630-A, and I want to thank the staff who worked on 4 that. Laura Popa; Samara, who is the Counsel to the 5 Environmental Protection Committee. Dan Avery and 6 Donna D, who are no longer with us at the Council, 7 but helped start this effort, and Batista and Erica 8 in the Mayor's Office of Operations, who were 9 critical in working on this piece of legislation. 10 And Intro. 630-A will require that 11 the City has a sustainable stormwater management 12 plan, and that we don't just develop it once, but 13 that we go back on a regular basis and update our 14 Stormwater Management Plan, and in doing so, we'll 15 be making sure we're protecting our drinking supply, 16 making sure our drinking supply is as clean as it 17 possibly can, by limiting the times when the various 18 water supplies end up commingling and I want to 19 thank the Chair of our Environmental Protection 20 Committee, Jim Gennaro. We have said this before, 21 but it bears saying it again, that it's Jim's 22 leadership that I think has made this City Council 23 the greenest it could possibly be, but truly an 24 environmental leader, not just in this City and 25 State, but in the country. 36 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 So, I call on the sponsor and Chair, 3 Jim Gennaro. 4 COUNCIL MEMBER GENNARO: Thank you, 5 Madam Speaker. Thank you very much. I thank you for 6 your leadership here. 7 Certainly, what we're doing today is 8 voting to tackle the sewage overflow problem in the 9 City's overburdened sewer system. 10 The legislation advances the 11 implementation of green design elements, which mimic 12 nature's own filtering systems into the City 13 streets, parks and other public spaces, and the 14 City's new development project. By adopting green 15 infrastructure solutions, such as green roofs, 16 permeable pavement, wetland restoration and smarter 17 design of street tree planting, street tree 18 plantings, stormwater can be captured where it 19 falls, and used to green the City instead of 20 overwhelming sewers and flushing raw sewage directly 21 into the City's waterways, which happens now. 22 This legislation, which is not only 23 consistent with PlaNYC, but actually goes beyond 24 PlaNYC, requires the development and implementation, 25 as the Speaker said, of a Citywide sustainable 37 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 stormwater management plan that speaks to this 3 issue. 4 This is landmark legislation that was 5 worked on with the Coalition of more than the 50 6 organizations that make up the SWIM Coalition. Some 7 of the members are here today. Special thanks goes 8 to Larry Levine from NRDC, Daniel Simon from the 9 Gaia Institute, and this is a great step forward for 10 New York City's environment, and I want to thank 11 everyone who was involved with this terrific bill. 12 And thank you, Madam Speaker, for thanking the staff 13 that worked so long and hard on this. 14 Thank you, Madam Speaker. 15 SPEAKER QUINN: Thank you, Chairperson 16 Gennaro. And we are glad to have Luke with us today, 17 and also glad to hear that he has endorsed our 18 stormwater legislation. 19 LUKE: Aye. Aye on all. 20 SPEAKER QUINN: He was voting aye on 21 all. Luke was. 22 We're also voting today on Intro. 23 293-A. A piece of legislation introduced by Council 24 Member James, and I want to thank her and passed 25 through the Health Committee, and I want to thank 38 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 Chairperson Rivera. I also want to thank the staff 3 who worked on this, such as Laura Popa, and Adira 4 Siman, who is the Counsel to the Health Committee. 5 And Intro. 293-A is a common sense piece of 6 legislation which builds Local Law 1 of 2002. It's a 7 bill that requires that the pamphlet that our 8 Department of Health has developed, they were 9 charged to develop this, required to develop this by 10 law, the City Council instructed them to come up 11 with one pamphlet that lists all of the various 12 public health insurance programs that exist for New 13 Yorkers. This law will require that when New Yorkers 14 are at day care centers, the day care workers have 15 to give this information to families to make sure 16 they have the info they need to go out and enroll 17 their children in public health programs if they 18 qualify, and I want to thank Tish James for this 19 very important piece of common sense legislation and 20 call on her to speak. 21 COUNCIL MEMBER JAMES: Thank you, 22 Madam Speaker. 23 The Children's Defense Fund of New 24 York estimates that 208,000 children in New York 25 City lacked health insurance in 2005. And contrary 39 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 to popular belief, the overwhelming majority of 3 these children live with parents who work each and 4 every day. They represent the working poor, the 5 invisible in the City of New York. 6 The number of uninsured individuals 7 in New York City is a significant burden on the 8 City's health care infrastructure, and as the 9 Speaker mentioned, this is a common sense piece of 10 legislation which basically brings these health care 11 pamphlets and information to the people who actually 12 need it, the children themselves, right where they 13 are, day care centers. 14 Thank you, Madam Speaker. 15 SPEAKER QUINN: Thank you. 16 We're also voting on Intro. 643-A, 17 and I want to thank Chairperson Simcha Felder, who 18 is the sponsor of the bill, but also the Chair of 19 the Gov Ops Committee, which is the Committee that 20 the bill went through. And I want to thank DeNora 21 Johnson-Getachew, who is the Counsel to that 22 Committee. And this bill is also another smart piece 23 of common-sense legislation. 24 Right now, when rules or regulations 25 are promulgated under the CAPA process, the law says 40 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 what entities, the Council, the community board, you 3 know, from all across the City, from Manhattan, to 4 the Bronx and Staten Island, they say they all have 5 to be notified. But it doesn't say in the law when 6 they have to be notified. 7 Now, if you're notifying people, as 8 Simcha Felder has said, because you want them to get 9 involved in the process, notifying them a day before 10 doesn't really give them the opportunity to do that. 11 If we want to make sure this 12 notification is about involvement, not keeping 13 people out of the process, we need to make sure that 14 that information is sent to them as early as 15 possible. That's why Intro. 643-A says that when 16 changes are going to be made to rules or regulations 17 under CAPA, notification has to go out to the 18 Council, Community Boards, et cetera, et cetera, 30 19 days in advance of action, and it also has to be 20 communicated electronically. 21 And I want to thank Simcha Felder for 22 this piece of legislation that will help add 23 transparency and accountability to the rule 24 promulgation process of the City of New York. 25 Lastly, we just want to comment on 41 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 Reso 90-A. This is a piece, a resolution that was 3 heard in our Finance Committee, and I want to thank 4 Chairperson Weprin. It's a piece of legislation 5 that's been sponsored by many Council members. The 6 effort led by Council Member Sears and Council 7 Member Fidler, this resolution urges the State 8 Legislature to end Madison Square Garden's free ride 9 as it relates to property taxes. 10 For 25 years, Madison Square Garden 11 has paid the City of New York not a penny in 12 property taxes. That's close to 13 million dollars a 13 year. Now, 13 million dollars a year may not be a 14 lot to Jim Dolan, but it's a lot to an average New 15 Yorker, and it's a lot to the City Council when 16 we're heading into a year with a budget deficit. 17 When this abatement was given, Mayor 18 Koch gave it to try to keep the garden and their 19 sports teams in New York City. 20 He gave it with the belief that the 21 State Legislature was extending it for a decade. Not 22 25 years and not forever. 23 The Garden is the only entity in the 24 City of New York now or ever that has had an 25 open-ended tax abatement. It wasn't what it was 42 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 designed to do, and there is no reason it should 3 continue. 4 You know, the Garden has raised that 5 the Yankees and the Mets have gotten pilots when 6 their new stadia were built. 7 Now, we should note that those are 8 stadia on public land that will be publicly owned. 9 But when and if the Garden moves in my district a 10 little bit west and they build a new arena, we are 11 more than happy to sit down and talk to them about 12 the idea of pilots, because they shouldn't be 13 treated any different than any other sports 14 franchises, because they had this abatement. 15 This abatement isn't about building a 16 new facility, it isn't even about rehabbing a new 17 facility, it was about keeping them in the City. 18 They have been more than compensated for that. The 19 compensation should end. The money should come back 20 to the taxpayers and to our budget. And I want to 21 thank Council Member Sears for sponsoring this 22 resolution and working so hard on it, and I want to 23 call on her to speak and we'll hear from the other 24 sponsors when we speak about resolutions later in 25 the agenda. 43 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 COUNCIL MEMBER SEARS: Thank you, 3 Madam Speaker. I'll be very brief. 4 It's been a long journey. This has 5 not just happened, this isn't the first year. And if 6 it was asked why now? My answer to that, when my 7 colleague Jimmy Oddo left room, was it's 8 perseverance, perseverance, and perseverance. That 9 did it. 10 As the Speaker has said, this was 11 something that was done and was not supposed to go 12 on forever. And this is something that doesn't 13 preclude Madison Square Garden from entering into 14 reasonable and rational agreements with the City 15 when the time is appropriate. 16 It is time for this to end that then 17 negotiations can take place, when they are at the 18 table in a fair and reasonable position. 19 And never once did Madison Square 20 Garden, I thought about this after the hearing this 21 morning, never once did they come and say it was not 22 supposed to go on forever. Shall we renegotiate? 23 They never did that because they were enjoying the 24 free ride, and the free ride is over for Madison 25 Square Garden, and I do hope that all of our 44 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 colleagues vote yes on this Reso. Because it's 3 government's responsibility that when something is 4 wrong, it is our responsibility to correct it, and 5 that's what's happening today, we're correcting a 6 wrong. 7 Thank you. And thank you, again, 8 Madam Speaker, and all my colleagues and the Chair 9 of the Finance Committee for really moving this into 10 the hearings. 11 Thank you. 12 SPEAKER QUINN: Thank you. And that 13 concludes our Communications from the Speaker. 14 PUBLIC ADVOCATE GOTBAUM: Discussion 15 of General Orders. 16 Seeing no one, Report of Special 17 Committees. 18 COUNCIL CLERK: None. 19 PUBLIC ADVOCATE GOTBAUM: Reports of 20 Standing Committees. 21 COUNCIL CLERK: Report of the 22 Committee on Environmental Protection. 23 Intro. 630-A. Stormwater management 24 plan. 25 SPEAKER QUINN: Amended and coupled on 45 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 General Orders. 3 COUNCIL CLERK: Report of the 4 Committee on Finance. 5 Preconsidered LU 659 and Reso 1236. 6 Supportive Housing Program. 7 SPEAKER QUINN: Coupled on General 8 Orders. 9 COUNCIL CLERK: Report of the 10 Committee on General Welfare. 11 Intro. 61-A. Prohibiting tenant 12 discrimination. 13 SPEAKER QUINN: Amended and coupled on 14 General Orders. 15 COUNCIL CLERK: Report of the 16 Committee on Governmental Operations. 17 Intro. 643. Agency electronic 18 transmission of proposed rules. 19 SPEAKER QUINN: Coupled on General 20 Orders. 21 COUNCIL CLERK: Report of the 22 Committee on Health. 23 Intro. 293-A. Public health insurance 24 options at day care centers. 25 SPEAKER QUINN: Amended and coupled on 46 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 General Orders. 3 COUNCIL CLERK: Report of the 4 Committee on Land Use. LU 626 and Reso 1237. ULURP. 5 SPEAKER QUINN: Coupled on General 6 Orders. 7 COUNCIL CLERK: LU 646 and Reso 1238. 8 UDAAP. 9 SPEAKER QUINN: Coupled on General 10 Orders. 11 COUNCIL CLERK: LU 651 and Reso 1239 12 through LU 660 and Reso 1246. Landmarks Preservation 13 Commission designations. 14 SPEAKER QUINN: Coupled on General 15 Orders. 16 PUBLIC ADVOCATE GOTBAUM: Oh, sorry. 17 Excuse me. 18 General Order Calendar. 19 COUNCIL CLERK: Resolution appointing 20 various persons Commissioner of Deeds. 21 SPEAKER QUINN: Coupled on General 22 Orders. 23 At this point I ask for a roll call 24 on all items that have been coupled on the General 25 Order Calendar, please. 47 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 COUNCIL CLERK: Addabbo. 3 COUNCIL MEMBER ADDABBO: Aye on all. 4 COUNCIL CLERK: Arroyo. 5 COUNCIL MEMBER ARROYO: Aye. 6 COUNCIL CLERK: Avella. 7 COUNCIL MEMBER AVELLA: Aye. 8 COUNCIL CLERK: Lappin. 9 COUNCIL MEMBER LAPPIN: Aye on all. 10 COUNCIL CLERK: Brewer. 11 COUNCIL MEMBER BREWER: Aye on all. I 12 am particularly pleased by Intro. 61-A, because 13 there are many seniors in my district who have had a 14 Section 8 certificate, and who are eligible and not 15 been able to use it, and in this particular 16 instance, thanks to the passage of this bill and all 17 the hard work, they will be able to. 18 And I also want to thank the folks 19 from Legal Aid who have been very instrumental in 20 this effort. 21 Thank you. 22 COUNCIL CLERK: Comrie. 23 COUNCIL MEMBER COMRIE: Aye on all. 24 Except for Intro. 61-A, I vote no. 25 COUNCIL CLERK: DeBlasio. 48 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 COUNCIL MEMBER DEBLASIO: Aye on all. 3 COUNCIL CLERK: Dickens. 4 COUNCIL MEMBER DICKENS: Aye on all. 5 COUNCIL CLERK: Dilan. 6 COUNCIL MEMBER DILAN: Aye on all, 7 except for Intro. 61-A, I vote no. 8 COUNCIL CLERK: Eugene. 9 COUNCIL MEMBER EUGENE: Aye. 10 COUNCIL CLERK: Felder. 11 COUNCIL MEMBER FELDER: Aye on all, 12 except 61-A. 13 COUNCIL CLERK: Foster. 14 COUNCIL MEMBER FOSTER: I vote aye on 15 all, except Reso -- Reso goes later. Oh, yes, I'd 16 like to be excused to vote on everything now, 17 please, because I'm not feeling well. So, aye on 18 all, and I abstain on Reso 90-A. 19 PUBLIC ADVOCATE GOTBAUM: So ordered. 20 COUNCIL CLERK: Gallagher. 21 COUNCIL MEMBER GALLAGHER: No on 61-A, 22 and aye on all other General Coupled Orders. 23 COUNCIL CLERK: Garodnick. 24 COUNCIL MEMBER GARODNICK: Aye. 25 COUNCIL CLERK: Gennaro. 49 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 COUNCIL MEMBER GENNARO: Yes. 3 COUNCIL CLERK: Gentile. 4 COUNCIL MEMBER GENTILE: Aye on all. 5 COUNCIL CLERK: Fidler. 6 COUNCIL MEMBER FIDLER: You forgot me 7 there. 8 Madam Public Advocate, may I be 9 briefly excused to explain my vote? 10 PUBLIC ADVOCATE GOTBAUM: So ordered. 11 COUNCIL MEMBER FIDLER: First, I want 12 to take this opportunity to be amongst the first to 13 welcome Yohan Santana to the City of New York. God 14 bless, let's go Mets. 15 As hard as it is to believe I'm going 16 to segway into a comment about stormwater, and I 17 want to sincerely thank Chairman Gennaro for his 18 work on stormwater. As the Councilman who represents 19 both Sheepshead Bay and Paerdegat Basin, we 20 understand all too much that when we have a heavy 21 rain in this City and stormwater, you know, 22 accumulates, it overflows our sewage treatment plant 23 in Sheepshead Bay. It's bad for our water, it wreaks 24 in the environment, and we are looking forward to 25 the completion of the project in Paerdegat Basin, 50 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 which will retain some of that stormwater and 3 hopefully return Paerdegat Basin to actually clean 4 swimmable water some time in our lifetime. And, so, 5 while the topic is kind of dry and mundane, I'm sure 6 that if you told folks in Sheepshead Bay and 7 Canarsie and George Town about it, and they'd 8 understand it in those terms, they'd be very, very 9 excited by what we're doing here today on stormwater 10 and therefore it's my privilege to vote aye on all. 11 COUNCIL CLERK: Gioia. 12 COUNCIL MEMBER GIOIA: Yes. 13 COUNCIL CLERK: Gonzalez. 14 COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ: Aye on all. 15 COUNCIL CLERK: Ignizio. 16 COUNCIL MEMBER IGNIZIO: No on 61-A 17 and Land Use 652, companion Resolution 1240; aye on 18 all others. 19 COUNCIL CLERK: Jackson. 20 COUNCIL MEMBER JACKSON: Aye on all. 21 COUNCIL CLERK: James. 22 COUNCIL MEMBER JAMES: Madam Public 23 Advocate, may I be excused to explain my vote? 24 PUBLIC ADVOCATE GOTBAUM: So ordered. 25 COUNCIL MEMBER JAMES: As part of our 51 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 economic development policy in the City of New York, 3 the City Council and the Mayor's Office provides 4 government support and tax breaks worth millions and 5 millions of dollars to some of the largest and most 6 profitable companies in the City of New York, and we 7 need to examine whether and to what extent the City 8 should be providing such benefits without singling 9 out any one particular company. 10 I vote aye on all, and I abstain on 11 Reso 90-A. 12 SPEAKER QUINN: Council member, unless 13 you have to leave, we'll be voting on the resos 14 later on during the Resos, okay? 15 COUNCIL MEMBER JAMES: I vote aye on 16 all. 17 COUNCIL CLERK: Katz. 18 COUNCIL MEMBER KATZ: Aye on all. 19 COUNCIL CLERK: Koppell. 20 COUNCIL MEMBER KOPPELL: Aye on all. 21 COUNCIL CLERK: Liu. 22 COUNCIL MEMBER LIU: Yes. 23 COUNCIL CLERK: Mark-Viverito. 24 COUNCIL MEMBER MARK-VIVERITO: Aye on 25 all. And I'd also like to vote aye on the reso, and 52 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 all other items on the calendar. 3 COUNCIL CLERK: Martinez. 4 COUNCIL MEMBER MARTINEZ: Madam Public 5 Advocate, may I be permitted to vote on all Land Use 6 items, and I vote aye on all. 7 COUNCIL CLERK: McMahon. 8 COUNCIL MEMBER McMAHON: Aye on all. 9 COUNCIL CLERK: Mealy. 10 COUNCIL MEMBER MEALY: I'm going to 11 say aye on all. I want to commend my colleague, Bill 12 DeBlasio, on 61-A, and I want to thank activists and 13 ACORN especially, because discrimination against 14 tenants, based on their income is a sad state in 15 this New York. Thank you. 16 COUNCIL CLERK: Mendez. 17 COUNCIL MEMBER MENDEZ: Aye on all. 18 COUNCIL CLERK: Monserrate. 19 COUNCIL MEMBER MONSERRATE: I'd like 20 unanimous consent to vote on all the Land Use 21 Call-Ups in the affirmative, and also on the 22 resolutions in the affirmative, and I vote aye on 23 everything on the agenda today. 24 PUBLIC ADVOCATE GOTBAUM: So ordered. 25 COUNCIL CLERK: Nelson. 53 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 COUNCIL MEMBER NELSON: Aye on all. 3 COUNCIL CLERK: Recchia. 4 COUNCIL MEMBER RECCHIA: Aye on all. 5 COUNCIL CLERK: Sanders. 6 COUNCIL MEMBER SANDERS: Madam Public 7 Advocate, permission to vote yes on previous items? 8 I vote yes. I vote yes on these 9 items. And it's always good to see my fellow ACORN 10 members in the House. 11 PUBLIC ADVOCATE GOTBAUM: Quiet, 12 please. So ordered. 13 COUNCIL CLERK: Seabrook. 14 COUNCIL MEMBER SEABROOK: Yes, Madam, 15 with unanimous consent I'd like to vote aye on all 16 Land Use Call-Ups on all items, and with your 17 permission to be excused? But aye on all. 18 PUBLIC ADVOCATE GOTBAUM: So ordered. 19 COUNCIL CLERK: Sears. 20 COUNCIL MEMBER SEARS: Aye on all. 21 COUNCIL CLERK: Stewart. 22 COUNCIL MEMBER STEWART: I'd like to 23 vote aye on all, except for 61-A. I abstain. 24 COUNCIL CLERK: Vacca. 25 COUNCIL MEMBER VACCA: No on 61-A. On 54 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 the rest I vote aye. 3 COUNCIL CLERK: Vallone. 4 COUNCIL MEMBER VALLONE: No on 61-A; 5 aye on the rest. 6 COUNCIL CLERK: Vann. 7 COUNCIL MEMBER VANN: Madam Speaker, 8 aye on Land Use Call-Ups, and aye on the General 9 Order Calendar. 10 COUNCIL CLERK: Weprin. 11 COUNCIL MEMBER WEPRIN: Aye on all. 12 COUNCIL CLERK: Yassky. 13 COUNCIL MEMBER YASSKY: Aye. 14 COUNCIL CLERK: Oddo. 15 COUNCIL MEMBER ODDO: No on 61-A, yes 16 on all others. 17 COUNCIL CLERK: Speaker Quinn. 18 SPEAKER QUINN: Aye on all. 19 PUBLIC ADVOCATE GOTBAUM: All items on 20 today's General Order Calendar were adopted by a 21 vote of 47 in the affirmative, zero in the negative, 22 zero abstentions, with the exception of Intro. 61-A, 23 which was adopted by a vote of 39 in the 24 affirmative, seven negative and one abstention. And 25 LU 652 and Reso 1240, which was adopted by a vote of 55 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 46 in the affirmative, one negative, zero 3 abstentions. 4 Introduction and Reading of Bills. 5 SPEAKER QUINN: All bills are referred 6 to committees as indicated on the agenda. 7 PUBLIC ADVOCATE GOTBAUM: Discussion 8 of Resolutions. 9 Council Member Fidler. 10 COUNCIL MEMBER FIDLER: I think it's 11 three times now that I've co-sponsored the 12 resolution regarding Madison Square Garden. I'm 13 thrilled that we are finally getting to vote on it 14 today. 15 I have supported public assistance of 16 one kind or another for every stadium that's been 17 proposed during my tenure on the Council, and this 18 is different. And it's not just because it's 19 perpetual. 20 This tax exemption was granted in the 21 early eighties when the City was on its knees, when 22 Gulf and Western, that owned the Garden at that 23 time, put a knife to our throat and the stench of 24 Walter O'Malley was still in the air in Brooklyn. 25 And we were told that if we didn't provide it, that 56 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 the Knicks and Rangers would be moved out of the 3 City of New York. One of those circumstances exist 4 today. And after 25 years of quasi extortion and a 5 quarter of a billion dollars, it's time for it to 6 end. 7 And I would say just one other thing. 8 Is that by its own terms, in my view, the Garden has 9 violated this exemption to require that all home 10 games be played for the Knicks and Rangers in the 11 City of New York. When the Garden, as an owner in 12 the NBA, as an owner in the NHL, locked the players 13 out on three occasions, the most recent of which was 14 2004, when they cancelled an entire season of hockey 15 games, this City was denied the benefit of the 16 bargain. It did not get the tax revenue. It did not 17 create the jobs. We would up paying unemployment 18 compensation to people who were selling and vending 19 in the Garden. And so at that point, if at no other 20 point, MSG was in violation of the terms of this tax 21 exemption. It's time for it to be over, enough is 22 enough and I urge a yes vote on this resolution. 23 PUBLIC ADVOCATE GOTBAUM: Council 24 Member Weprin. 25 COUNCIL MEMBER WEPRIN: Thank you, 57 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 Madam Public Advocate. 3 I also strongly support this 4 Resolution. I actually held two hearings on this 5 Resolution, one going back to 2004, and one most 6 recently within the last month. 7 On both occasions, Madison Square 8 Garden and Cablevision did not send an employee of 9 Madison Square Garden or Cablevision. 10 SPEAKER QUINN: If we could just 11 suspend the State Meeting for a second, and if we 12 could have one of the police officers go outside and 13 check on the woman who seems to have fallen on the 14 steps. We'll just stand for one second in recess. 15 (Recess taken.) 16 SPEAKER QUINN: All right, back to 17 Madison Square Garden. 18 And we believe the ACORN member who 19 fell down the stairs is going to be fine, but the 20 ambulance is on its way, and just to make sure she 21 gets checked out. Her blood pressure was a bit high, 22 her pulse, but it seems to be going a normal rate, 23 so we'll update folks after she takes a trip to the 24 ambulance. Thank you. 25 PUBLIC ADVOCATE GOTBAUM: Madam 58 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 Speaker, we wanted to call on Council Member Rivera 3 to register his vote, which he didn't do. 4 SPEAKER QUINN: Okay. And then we need 5 to go back to Council Member Weprin. 6 Thank you. 7 PUBLIC ADVOCATE GOTBAUM: Council 8 Member Rivera. 9 COUNCIL MEMBER RIVERA: Thank you very 10 much, Madam Public Advocate. 11 I would like to vote aye on all 12 General Order Calendars for today's Council -- 13 PUBLIC ADVOCATE GOTBAUM: So ordered. 14 Council Member Weprin. 15 COUNCIL MEMBER WEPRIN: Thank you. 16 Will I have my full two minutes? 17 PUBLIC ADVOCATE GOTBAUM: You'll get 18 your full two minutes, my friend. 19 SPEAKER QUINN: Yes. 20 COUNCIL MEMBER WEPRIN: Thank you. 21 I conducted two hearings of the 22 Finance Committee on this resolution, one dating 23 back to 2004. On both occasions we asked the Dolans 24 and/or an employee of Madison Square Garden of a 25 senior position to testify. 59 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 On both occasions, MSG and 3 Cablevision, sent an outside consultant, or an 4 outside counsel. In the first hearing in 2004 they 5 sent an outside counsel. In the most recent 6 hearing, they actually sent a consultant on Arena 7 Financings from Chicago. They did not have any 8 employee from Cablevision or Madison Square Garden 9 testifying. 10 On both occasions, they did not build 11 a case, in my opinion, to meet the need to continue 12 the tax exemption. 13 At the most recent hearing, just 14 about three weeks ago, I asked on the record that 15 consultant from Chicago, who is representing 16 Cablevision, whether he knew of any other tax 17 exemption for a for-profit institution in New York 18 State, or anywhere else, that had an unlimited 19 exemption. He responded that he did not know of any, 20 that there weren't any that he knew of in New York 21 State. 22 Second of all, the reason this 23 exemption was granted in the first place was in 24 1981, there was an issue of the Rangers or Knicks 25 potentially leaving New York City. I asked that 60 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 consultant on the record as well, whether there was 3 any discussion or any chance or any possibility of 4 the Rangers or Knicks leaving New York City at this 5 time. He said absolutely not, it's not event a 6 discussion point. 7 On that alone and 25 years of tax 8 exemptions, totaling over $250 million, enough is 9 enough, now is the time to act. 10 I urge you to vote aye on the 11 Resolution. 12 PUBLIC ADVOCATE GOTBAUM: Thank you. 13 Council Member, it was my fault, I didn't say that 14 it was a resolution and you only get one minute, 15 even under extraordinary circumstances. 16 COUNCIL MEMBER WEPRIN: You gave me 17 two. 18 PUBLIC ADVOCATE GOTBAUM: I know. So 19 I've got in my bank more, right? 20 Council Member Mealy. 21 COUNCIL MEMBER MEALY: Madam Speaker, 22 and my distinguished colleagues, I am excited today 23 to have two bills to be introduced today. No, not 24 today, sorry. Okay, later on. 25 PUBLIC ADVOCATE GOTBAUM: Council 61 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 Member Recchia. 3 COUNCIL MEMBER RECCHIA: Yes, I want 4 to talk about the resolution of Madison Square 5 Garden. 6 Even though I will vote in favor of 7 the Resolution, I just think that what is happening 8 to Madison Square Garden, we have to work with all 9 arenas, stadiums on the same level, and we also have 10 to treat them at the same level. So, even though 11 some of these arenas, you know, if it wasn't for the 12 City Council, Yankees would not have done what 13 they're doing for the communities, and the Mets 14 would not be doing anything if it wasn't for the 15 City Council, and I just think that what's here for 16 the Garden is that it's not fair to single them out 17 when you have other arenas also that are getting 18 certain deals or certain privileges. So, I just feel 19 that you have to treat all on the same level, even 20 though I will vote in favor of this resolution. I 21 just think you have to treat all of the arenas on 22 the same level in the same manner, and MSG is very, 23 very outstanding in certain organizations and 24 community events throughout New York City and in my 25 district. 62 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 PUBLIC ADVOCATE GOTBAUM: Council 3 Member Koppell. 4 COUNCIL MEMBER KOPPELL: 5 Unfortunately, I can't join in supporting this 6 Resolution. The very memo that we have on our desk 7 indicates that the State Legislature granted the tax 8 exemption in perpetuity so long as the Knicks and 9 Rangers continue to play in New York the home games. 10 They've met that burden. Nobody has indicated that 11 they have violated an agreement. 12 We have a contract clause in our 13 Constitution that says no state may abridge the 14 right of contract, and I believe that there is a 15 good chance that this would be an unconstitutional 16 act if the Legislature enacted it. 17 But more important than that, our 18 promises have to mean something to people who we 19 make promises. Maybe this was a foolish promise, but 20 it was made. 21 Let's not forget that the baseball 22 Dodgers and baseball Giants left us and people 23 regret it today. The football Giants play in New 24 Jersey, the Jets play in New Jersey. We regret that. 25 We want to keep these teams. We want our promises to 63 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 be believed because we want people to follow what 3 we're asking them to do. 4 I think it's unfair to do this, 5 especially in light of the big breaks we've given 6 recently to the Yankees and to the Mets, therefore, 7 I vote no on the Resolution. 8 PUBLIC ADVOCATE GOTBAUM: Anybody 9 else. 10 I can't see the hand. Oh, Council 11 Member James, I can't see you. 12 Council Member Gennaro, would you 13 mind please moving? 14 COUNCIL MEMBER JAMES: The Mayor and 15 this Council has approved recent agreements with the 16 Mets, the Yankees and the Nets for billions and 17 billions of dollars. They provide these teams with 18 hundreds of millions of dollars in government 19 benefits and tax breaks. 20 Madison Square Garden should not be 21 singled out by this resolution without a 22 determination as to whether this tax exemption is 23 consistent with the government benefits provided to 24 the other teams, and no such review has been 25 conducted and the Council shall not act without this 64 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 crucial information. 3 The City Council needs to examine our 4 economic development policy as a whole, and not 5 single out any one particular company. Therefore, it 6 is for that reason that I abstain on this 7 Resolution. Thank you. 8 PUBLIC ADVOCATE GOTBAUM: Anybody 9 else? Okay, seeing nobody else, let's do a vote on 10 the resolutions. 11 All in favor? 12 Opposed? 13 Adopted. 14 I'm going to call out the new tally 15 on the votes, with the inclusion of Council Member 16 Rivera. All items on today's General Order Calendar 17 were adopted by a vote of 48 in the affirmative, 18 zero in the negative, no abstentions, with the 19 exception of Intro. 61-A which was adopted by a vote 20 of 39 in the affirmative, eight negative, one 21 abstention; and LU 652 and Reso 1240, which was 22 adopted by a vote of 47 in the affirmative, one 23 negative and zero abstentions. 24 Revised Land Use Call-Ups were 25 adopted by a vote of 48 in the affirmative, zero 65 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 negatives. 3 General Discussion. 4 Council Member Weprin. 5 COUNCIL MEMBER WEPRIN: Thank you, 6 Madam Public Advocate. 7 I rise to ask my colleagues to 8 support two pieces of important legislation I'm 9 introducing today. 10 The first bill is a resolution 11 calling upon the State Legislature to amend the 12 State Racing and Wagering Law to allow for the New 13 York City Off-Track Betting Corporation to keep more 14 of the revenue it generates in order to prevent 15 total financial insolvency, which would lead to OTB 16 closing its doors at the end of this Fiscal Year. 17 OTB is in dire straights, as a result 18 of State-mandated payments that OTB needs to make to 19 other racing entities and localities around the 20 State which has led to a sharp decline in the 21 revenue that is received by the City on an annual 22 basis. 23 Additionally, according to their own 24 internal financial estimates, OTB has stated that it 25 is going to run out of money by June, which will 66 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 jeopardize the jobs of over 1,500 hard-working New 3 Yorkers. 4 The State needs to act and act 5 quickly if we are going to ensure those 1,500 6 workers don't lose their jobs. 7 Please join me in co-sponsoring 8 Resolution 1235. 9 The second piece or legislation that 10 I'm introducing today is a resolution that would 11 allow New York City to give a personal income tax 12 credit for anyone who wants to convert their 13 existing home heating system from oil to natural 14 gas. 15 The United States is increasingly 16 dependent on foreign oil, the war in Iraq and 17 Afghanistan has directly in the scarcity of this 18 vital energy resource, driving the price of oil to 19 its highest level in the last few weeks. Natural gas 20 is an abundance in North America, over 90 percent of 21 natural gas is produced on this continent alone. 22 Natural gas is more efficient and 23 environmentally friendly than oil, it is incumbent 24 on the Council to continue to make New York a 25 cleaner and greener City for the 21st century. 67 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 Please join me in co-sponsoring resolution 1234. 3 Thank you. 4 PUBLIC ADVOCATE GOTBAUM: Council 5 Member James. 6 COUNCIL MEMBER JAMES: Thank you, 7 Madam Public Advocate. I would like to bring my 8 colleagues to an important matter being introduced 9 today. Intro. 685, a local law, affirmative 10 furthering the Fair Housing Law. 11 People talk all the time about how 12 diverse New York is, but, in fact, New York remains 13 one of the most residentially segregated cities in 14 one of the most residentially segregated 15 Metropolitan areas in the entire country. And it 16 turns out that a study has found that residential 17 segregation has more of an impact on black white 18 differences in earnings, high school graduation 19 rates, employment and health status, than any other 20 factor. 21 Long ago the City should have 22 acknowledged the existence of residential 23 segregation, and determined to report regularly on 24 its scope. Long ago it should have become a matter 25 of core City policy applicable to all City programs, 68 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 policy laws and regulations, we would attempt to 3 counteract segregation in residential housing. 4 Long ago the City should have made it 5 its business to ensure that the City itself is not 6 acting in any way that would perpetuate residential 7 segregation. 8 Not only did the City historically 9 participate in the potential creation and 10 maintenance of segregated housing patterns, we know 11 that the City does not take the goal of tackling 12 residential segregation seriously. 13 That's why the City now has an 14 opportunity provided by Intro. 685 to amend the City 15 Human Rights Law to officially reflect the City's 16 moral and legal obligation to affirmative fair 17 housing and to require the ongoing City Council 18 oversight required, called for in the bill. 19 I urge my colleagues to join me in 20 sponsoring Intro. 685 and truly bring Martin Luther 21 King's dream to a reality in New York City. 22 Thank you. 23 PUBLIC ADVOCATE GOTBAUM: Council 24 Member Brewer. 25 COUNCIL MEMBER BREWER: Just an 69 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 announcement. We've had some hearings on broadband 3 and the next one is going to be in Queens on March 4 3rd at 1:00, at the LaGuardia Community College, and 5 we will be inviting the non-profit groups and the 6 small businesses and individuals from Queens, to 7 come talk about their interest and desire or not for 8 inexpensive fast broadband in that borough. 9 Secondly, I want to thank Amanda 10 Gugliata, who is a master's degree student at NYU 11 for being our intern this semester. 12 Thank you very much. 13 PUBLIC ADVOCATE GOTBAUM: Council 14 Member Felder. 15 COUNCIL MEMBER FELDER: Thank you very 16 much. 17 I'd like to bring your attention to 18 two bills that are being introduced today. Intro. 19 679 and Intro. 680. I will talk about one of them. 20 As you can see, the pile of booklets I have, a 21 sampling of them, most of us get regularly, and I 22 will only speak about myself. I usually either put 23 them in the bookcase or throw them into recycling 24 immediately. 25 These books, I'd like to dedicate 70 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 this to my colleague Council Member Gale Brewer -- 3 COUNCIL MEMBER BREWER: Put them on 4 line. 5 COUNCIL MEMBER FELDER: And not 6 distribute them? 7 COUNCIL MEMBER BREWER: On line. 8 COUNCIL MEMBER FELDER: Only? 9 COUNCIL MEMBER BREWER: Well, you can 10 distribute them, too. You have to put them on line. 11 COUNCIL MEMBER FELDER: All right. I 12 didn't hear exactly what you said, but I deferred to 13 Council Member Brewer because I'm sure she knows 14 what she's talking about, because I don't. 15 But if it exists, if the law still 16 exists that's supposed to distribute this stuff, 17 they should stop distributing these materials and 18 not waste it. I was just told by one of my staff 19 members, Council Member Brewer, that they 20 distributed a CD, but it's not on line. 21 PUBLIC ADVOCATE GOTBAUM: Nice try, 22 Simcha. 23 COUNCIL MEMBER FELDER: All right, 24 I'll ditch my comments and whoever is taping the 25 meeting, just rewind and erase. Thank you. 71 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 PUBLIC ADVOCATE GOTBAUM: Council 3 Member Mealy. 4 COUNCIL MEMBER MEALY: I am excited to 5 introduce today the first proposals that all 6 18-year-old students be provided a Voter 7 Registration Form. The second urges that the New 8 York State Senate passes S.3930 and S.3931 and 9 S.3932 and S.3933, which among other things, seek to 10 impose stiff penalties on those who choose to 11 intimidate or deceive voters. 12 Voting is a right to everyone, and 13 that is one thing that I am going to fight for. And 14 fellow colleagues, when I came into this office, I 15 made a commitment to my constituents to make youth 16 empowerment and election integrity my priority, and 17 in which I'm doing with jobs to build on in my 18 district. 19 With these two bills I am introducing 20 today, District 41 takes a strong step in the right 21 direction. I'll look forward to working with all of 22 you to see these bills pass, and together I am 23 confident that we can embody the voices of our youth 24 to improve our election system. Thank you. 25 And I want to say one thing, 72 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 congratulations to our Majority Leader Rivera, 3 congratulations for your first child, you and your 4 wife. 5 PUBLIC ADVOCATE GOTBAUM: Council 6 Member Jackson. 7 COUNCIL MEMBER JACKSON: Thank you. 8 Thank you, Madam Public Advocate. My 9 colleagues, I rise to ask you to support Resolution 10 No. 1235 introduced by Council Member Weprin, in 11 which we attended a press conference this past 12 Sunday, basically calling on the State Legislature 13 to change and amend the State Racing and Pari-Mutuel 14 Wagering and Breeding Law in order to reduce the 15 State-imposed financial mandate on OTB. And as a 16 result of all of these mandates, New York City 17 basically is losing money, even though it's a 18 billion dollar profit on OTB, but basically the 19 money is going to the Racing and Wagering Board and 20 other locations instead of coming to New York City. 21 And what's at stake here is that 22 there are approximately 15 or 1,600 employees that 23 if OTB goes out of business in June of this year, 24 will lose their jobs, and about 1,400 of them are 25 members of one of the locals of DC 37. 73 1 STATED COUNCIL MEETING 2 Now, I know that these are tough 3 economic times, but we don't need another additional 4 1,600 employees going out of, losing their jobs as a 5 result of the State deciding all of the profits that 6 are being made by OTB is going to the Racing and 7 Wagering Board in other locations, rather than the 8 New York City coffers. So, I ask you to sign onto 9 Resolution 1235. 10 But also, let me thank my colleague 11 Joel Rivera. I didn't know that his wife just had a 12 baby. Congratulations. I hope you have three or four 13 more. Oh, she's just pregnant. Oh my gosh. Well, I 14 hope everything goes well. I thought she had a baby 15 already. 16 Okay, with that, my colleagues, have 17 a good evening. 18 PUBLIC ADVOCATE GOTBAUM: Seeing 19 nobody else, the Council Meeting of January 30 is 20 adjourned. Ended, adjourned, recessed, I can't keep 21 it straight. 22 (Hearing concluded at 3:34 p.m.) 23 24 25 74 1 2 CERTIFICATION 3 4 5 STATE OF NEW YORK ) 6 COUNTY OF NEW YORK ) 7 8 9 I, CINDY MILLELOT, a Certified 10 Shorthand Reporter, do hereby certify that the 11 foregoing is a true and accurate transcript of the 12 within proceeding. 13 I further certify that I am not 14 related to any of the parties to this action by 15 blood or marriage, and that I am in no way 16 interested in the outcome of this matter. 17 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto 18 set my hand this 30th day of January 2008. 19 20 21 22 23 --------------------- 24 CINDY MILLELOT, CSR. 25 75 1 2 C E R T I F I C A T I O N 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 I, CINDY MILLELOT, a Certified Shorthand 10 Reporter and a Notary Public in and for the State of 11 New York, do hereby certify the aforesaid to be a 12 true and accurate copy of the transcription of the 13 audio tapes of this hearing. 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 ----------------------- CINDY MILLELOT, CSR. 25